


I and Love and You

by iviscrit



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Confusion, F/M, Flashbacks, Memories, Romance, baavira - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-07 10:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4260639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iviscrit/pseuds/iviscrit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"'Fire!' The cry went up high and sharp, and acrid smoke clogged his lungs." Baavira, both pre- and post- gambit. For Saigneux.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I and Love and You

"Fire!" The cry went up high and sharp, and acrid smoke clogged his lungs. 

Baatar keyed the code into the lock and gestured sharply, ordering the rest of the staff out as the demo engine burst into flames. He clapped a hand over his nose and mouth as he forced himself closer, unmoved by the entreaties of his engineers to leave the lab. The smoke billowed out once the doors hissed open, and Baatar let out his breath without thinking. The coughing fit that followed forced him to bend at the waist, one arm braced on the lab bench and the other over his nose and mouth, as he tried to lessen the smoke inhalation and salvage the machinery. 

This was third setback with the spirit vine weaponization operation. The previous two had been minor enough, but this test was proving to be life-threatening. Hiding the previous two failures from Kuvira had been hard; if she were to learn now that he'd ordered the others out and stayed back to see what he could do... 

Kuvira always found out. He had learned that years ago, when he received his first injury in a scrimmage. Worrying about her reaction was a waste of time.

The roots of the banyan tree were similar to the texture of live wood, craggy and dry on the outside with a fibrous interior. But they were blazing like proper kindling, giving off a green-grey smoke that made his head swim and his eyes burn, even with goggles. The capsule that held the spirit root was cracked at the base, and his eyes narrowed as he took in the sight. This was the third plausible instance of sabotage. 

_The wood is burning before his eyes and he feels curiously helpless._

Baatar reached for the length of rubber tubing and turned on the air spout, blasting the demo engine with a jet of pressurized air, the open end of the tube angled away from his body. The tangle of wires and gears was like a story to him, each scorched fragment of metal a clue to what had gone wrong. His fingers probed the interior, feeling for pieces he'd diagrammed endless times, until he found what he was looking for and managed to make the root release its energy. it became brittle in his hand and he staggered away from the lab bench in relief, hurrying to the door in pursuit of clean air and collapsing against the hallway wall. 

_He can imagine her face as clearly as ever as a halo of smoke replaces his vision._

"You imbecile," his fiancée said, striding over to his bed. "Smoke asphyxiation and burnt fingers. Qin said you ordered everyone out." 

"The room was filling with smoke," he muttered, avoiding her eyes. He heard her sit down, felt her take his hand in his. There was the whisper of suede over skin as she tugged her gloves off, stroking over the scorched imprints of gears with her fingertips. 

"And you decided to stay back." 

"If I hadn't, we'd be back to building a new testing model and potentially rebuilding my lab," he said. "More importantly, the test failed because of interference with the power core. I think--" 

"Interference?" Her voice became cold, and her fingers ceased their soothing motions over his skin. Baatar sat up, worry stealing into his face as he observed her. "We have three weeks before the attack on Republic City. Timing is imperative."

"Everything is proceeding per the schedule. I'll be feeling up to another battery of tests soon." 

Her eyes softened, and she gently pushed him back down. "No," she said as her fingers went to work again, "you were told to be careful for the next couple of hours. Listen to the healer."

"As if  _you_  ever do," he said, unable to resist, relief washing over him when she smiled. Her smiles were rarer sightings, now.

"As the commander, I reserve the right to command myself," she said. When she kissed him at last, he wondered if she could taste the smoke.

o0o

Kuvira liked nothing more than to curl up in bed, nestled against Baatar's chest and her hands in his. Ideally there would be no paperwork in bed with them, but of late they had come to accept it as a non-negotiable bedmate. There were briefing reports to read, battle strategies to refine... the printed terms of surrender once Republic City was theirs could hardly be negotiated without rehearsal. Loopholes were the reason her rule in the Earth Empire had been questioned, and she refused to allow Reiko the room he would desperately need to justify a later uprising. Planning had saved her from two assassination attempts in the past month. Planning would secure the city in record time.   
Watching Baatar work, his eyes aglow with physics and math she will never understand, she remembered the moment she fell in love with him. 

_She is surprised first and then alarmed, when she smells the smoke._

It had been after another lab fire, oddly enough; she had received word that the vice president was unresponsive in the medi-car. Kuvira had burst in wearing her combat armor, her helmet under her arm and her hair in disarray. Baatar smelled of chemicals and caustic fumes, his hands limp at his sides and his fingernails blackened. They were less comfortable with affection outside the privacy of their rooms and she had taken the seat by his bed, reassured by each rise and fall of his chest that all was well. 

Her name had been the first word he spoke when he came to, and she managed to keep a neutral face when he positively beamed upon seeing her. "Kuvira? Spirits, I'm happy to see you." 

"Likewise. How are you feeling?"  

"I'm fine," he had said, reaching for her hand and thinking better of it, casting a furtive glance in the healer's direction. "I need to ask you something important, though..." 

"I'm listening."

"Was the prototype destroyed in the accident?"

She had blinked in disbelief, confusedly giving an answer she forgot the second it left her lips. Baatar sat up, excitement threading through his voice and brimming over as he launched into a description of the new helmets and upgraded gas mask attachments. His eyes were alight with the thrill of discovery, animated with a childish excitement that manifested itself every time he spoke of his engineering breakthroughs. Reeking of burnt metal and close shaves, singed and still semi-conscious, he delightedly rambled on about gas laws and platinum alloys. It was curiously endearing, more so than usual. Kuvira felt increasingly aware of a warm affection that threatened to choke her as it swelled in her chest, and as Baatar barreled on she felt the realization dawning. It was remarkable it had taken this long; it really had been a long time coming. "I think this time-- oh. Am I boring you?" he had said, pausing suddenly and watching her with worry. "You can tell me, I won't be offended."

"No," she had replied, three words in her head clamoring for exit when she opened her mouth to speak.  _I and love and you_. They were weighty to say when arranged correctly, and she was dimly aware of the slackness to her jaw and the thunderstruck expression on her face.

“I can’t tell if you’re bored or in shock,” he gently prodded. “What are you thinking?”

  _I and love and you_ , she repeated in her head, her brain suddenly sluggish. Logically it made sense, after countless hours spent together and growing up in Zaofu together and never tiring of watching him-- "I love this," she managed at last. "I love seeing you so animated, with your work. You could be on the verge of death and the promise of a breakthrough would be enough to bring you back." 

"Or an order from you," he had added softly, and from her spot against his chest Kuvira remembered how she wondered if he loved her back. In hindsight it had been a silly insecurity. He had loved her since childhood, and she would love him for the remainder of their lives. 

_She coughs. The scent of smoke brings back memories._

"You're so restless tonight. Do I still smell like spirit vines?"  

"You smell like carcinogens," Kuvira retorted. "I can't sleep next to you like this." She knew it wasn’t true even as she said it, already looking forward to laying aside the papers and burying her face in the hollow of his neck. Nothing was more soothing, nothing was more placating. 

_He is impossible to placate, his frustrated shouts turning into anguished entreaties as smoke curls out from the windows. It's a wooden cell, dry as bone and twice as dense, and he knows what that means. He knows better than anyone else what a fire in the wooden wing means._

_Her cell has always been suffocating, but now she is choked by claustrophobia and memory both. The scent of smoke only brings pleasant memories. It is a good way to die, she reflects. She wonders where he is. The irony of her situation is not lost on her. She knows the fire department has been summoned and that the prisoners will be moved-- her ears are sharp-- and she idly wonders if there will be enough time as the flames lick at the walls and the smoke fills the room. She is surprised to learn she doesn’t care. Martyrdom had never been part of the plan, but perhaps it will suffice as a consolation prize._

_The smell of smoke has a way of lingering, long after the fire has burned out and its ashes swept away._

_"Fire!" she hears someone say. She thinks she recognizes the voice, but decides it is impossible. He hasn’t visited since the start of her incarceration, and soon there will be no reason to visit at all._

_“Fire!” The cry goes up high and sharp, and acrid smoke clogs her lungs._

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> if this was confusing and suckish my apologies i'm just really tired and will likely repost after I read through


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